Insanity
by can1235
Summary: They thought once the Kishin was defeated, the madness would end. That nobody would fall victim to it. They were wrong. Now, they have to find the one who fell to the madness. Or that person will kill them all.
1. Chapter 1

**Right off the bat I want to say this takes place after the anime ending, so if you haven't seen it or think this is after the manga, you have been warned.**

Soul and Maka

The party was great. Kid had decided, once Maka's arm had healed, to host a party celebrating the defeat of the Keshin. Everybody made it, Maka and Soul, Black Star and Tsubaki, even Crona went, having been accepted back into the DWMA due to him almost dying to save Maka. However, nobody knew what would happen afterwards. Nobody but one person.

The next day started normally, until right after 1st period. As everybody started to leave, their instructor told them all the news. "There has been an assault," he started. "One of the students has been severely injured, and their partner has not been seen since last night. Any friends of Kim Diehl should report to the infirmary immediately, you will be excused from 2nd period."

Maka and Soul rushed to the infirmary, not stopping to rest until they got there. "I can't believe it, how could Kim get injured in Death City!?" Maka yelled. Soul turned to her, as shocked about the news as she was.

"This isn't the first time something like this has happened, but Lord Death should've added more defense measures by now!" He was confused and worried about Kim. She was one of the most capable Meisters he knew, how could she be injured so bad that they'd excuse her friends from class to see her!?

Finally, they made it to the infirmary. They knocked on the door, and soon Nygus opened. "Come on in," she told them grimly, as if they were at a funeral. They went in and saw Kid, Liz and Patty already there.

"How bad is it?" Maka asked, her voice pleading for any good news, but one look at Kid's face said it all.

"Take a look for yourself," he responded, his expression grim and sad. Maka and Soul went over and the former gasped when she saw Kim. Kim had stitches on multiple parts of her body, along with minor cuts and bruises almost everywhere, but what looked the worst was the bandages covering part of her stomach. "She was attacked," Kid stated. "The cuts and bruises are from an unknown source, but Stein quickly figured out what caused the stomach wound. We don't know who, but somebody punched her with enough force for their fist to go through her stomach and out of her back." Maka let out a stifled gasp as tears started to come out of her eyes.

"How could anybody…" Soul muttered. "and Jacqueline?" Kid shook his head.

"Still no sign of her, they suspect whoever injured Kim took Jacqueline." By then Maka was crying, looking at Kim's injured body.

"She'll live, thanks to Stein, but we still can't tell how much permanent damage this will cause her," Nygus explained. "Best case scenario, she'll walk with a limp. Worst case, full lower body paralysis." Maka started crying harder and Soul started to walk her out.

"She said something right before she passed out," Kid stated. "She said, 'don't trust her'." The room went quiet when Maka and Soul left, until more visitors came. Maka didn't go back to the DWMA that day, instead staying home.

As Maka laid on her couch, she instinctively touched her right arm, right where the Keshin squeezed it. She flinched in pain, even after months of rest, surgery and physical therapy her arm still hurt to be touched and moved slower than it used to. But this was the best case scenario she could end with, after all, the arm was so badly injured that the bone was broken into multiple pieces, along with veins broken and nerves damaged. It was a miracle she could even still move it. Eventually she fell asleep, her mind thinking about the horrible news.

Kid, Liz and Patty

"Father, have there been any discoveries on Kim's attacker?" Kid asked, getting straight to the point. He, Liz and Patty were in the Death Room talking with Lord Death.

"Oh hiyah Kid! Hmm…" Death started. "I don't think so, sorry!" That wasn't what Kid wanted to hear, Kim and Jacqueline were friends of his, and he wanted the attacker taken down.

"What about Jacqueline, any news on her?" He needed to know some progress had been made.

"Jacqueline's house has been searched, and still no sign of her, although we know the last place anybody saw her was the party you hosted," Kid sighed, in relief because they had made progress, but in anger because that means anybody who went to the party could be a suspect, as well as anybody by his house, where it was hosted. _Let's see, the people there were me, Liz, Patty, Maka, Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki, Crona, Kim, Jacqueline, Ox, Harvar, Kilik, Fire and Thunder. Kim and Jacqueline can be crossed off for obvious reasons. Black Star and Tsubaki left for Japan just yesterday, so even if they can help, _it'll_ be a while before we can find out where in Japan they went. Now the problem is none of the people who went would ever hurt Kim, but I still should talk to them when I have the chance._ Kid's thoughts were interrupted by his father. "Kid, shouldn't you be in class right now?"

"Class, I forgot! Come on Liz, Patty!"

"Alright Kid."

"Kay!"

?

_More…blood…_it's so_ PRETTY! I wanna see more red blood spilling out and going everywhere it's so pretty! I wanna see more blood! Bloodbloodbloodbloodbloodblood…_there's_ a pretty lady, I wonder how her blood would look outside of her? Heheh…why should _I_ wonder when _Ican_ SEE FOR MYSELF!? Come back lady, _I_ wanna see your _bloo_oooood…better, _it's_ much prettier outside. Oooooh, her soul is pretty too, I wonder what else is prettier outside? Only one way to find out! I gotta TEAR. IT. OUT! I feel better now, all that blood is enough to keep me satisfied for a few days. Better get back, I don't wanna get caught because I was late! Although I should check on my little weapon, I don't want her going and starving when we can have more fun!_


	2. Chapter 2

Maka and Soul

The day after, everything seemed quiet. Kim and Jacqueline's friends were all effected by the attack, especially Ox, who locked himself in a broom closet the night before and still hadn't come out thanks to the granola bars, bottles of water, and bucket he had with him. Maka and Soul, meanwhile, were busy trying to figure out the attacker's identity whenever they weren't in class.

"Maybe it's a witch who invaded Death City?" Maka suggested. They weren't being told any new information, so at this point it was just guesses.

"That could be it, although it could also be a remnant of Arachnophobia," Soul replied, "Even though Arachne is dead, there are bits of the group still out there, they might be trying to take revenge." They both were worried sick about Kim, and if Jacqueline had been taken by the same person who had attacked Kim, then she might be in even more danger. It was not a good situation, and even worse, they had absolutely no idea what was going to happen.

Spirit

This was not good. When he was called to the crime scene he didn't know it would be this gruesome. The woman's organs were ripped out by what were probably claws judging by the marks. Her ribs were either sticking out of her chest in odd positions like some demonic mouth or strewn about on the floor broken into various pieces. The organs that had been ripped out were laying on the floor, blood pooled around them. Even more blood was on the wall where the woman was slumped over at. It made Spirit want to throw up, and he saw some local cops and even a few DWMA agents stepping away to vomit. Stein walked up next to him and pulled out a plastic bag labeled "**Evidence**".

"I'm going to go collect any pieces of evidence I can find before the flies get to them." Stein said coldly. Spirit couldn't help but grimace. This was gruesome, even for Stein's standards, and if there was a killer who was even more screwed up (no pun intended) than Stein, than things were not looking good. He saw Stein collect the Woman's soul in a jar that had the same label as the bag. _Why would somebody this deranged just kill the woman and leave the soul?_ He thought it was a Kishin Egg who did it, but he'd never heard of one who left the soul after the killing. Of course, it could just be some loony witch who decided to kill some people just to tick Lord Death off, but still, it was strange. "Spirit," Stein started, scaring the crap out of Spirit. "I want you to call him."

Spirit turned to him, surprised. "You don't mean…_him_?" Stein nodded, and Spirit shuddered. He didn't have anything against the guy, but if things were bad enough that Stein, his biggest rival, were to personally request his help, then he had every right to be scared out of his mind. "Alright, I'll give him a call." He pulled out his phone and entered the phone number. "Honestly, why can't he just use a mirror like the rest of us…" he muttered as he waited for him to pick up.

?

As he was making himself some lunch, his phone rang. He stopped stirring the pot and pulled it out, checking the caller ID. It was Spirit. He answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, listen, we have a case for you." This was new, he hadn't had a case from the DWMA in four years.

"Why should I accept the case?"

"Because Stein asked you to."

He hung up the phone and turned off the stove. "Hey, I got a case, I need to head out, I'll be back soon, can you finish making my stew? I'm not going to eat it."

"Hey, how long are you gonna be gone kiddo?"

"Don't worry, if all goes well I'll be back in a month or two at most."

"And if something goes wrong?"

"Let's hope nothing does."

Kid, Liz and Patty

"So Kid, what did your dad say?" Liz asked. This time, Kid had been asked to go into the Death Room alone, which was an uncommon event. Kid thought back to what his father had said.

_"Listen kiddo, we have an investigator coming to the school to help with the case. He's only around your age, so I need you to go along with the idea that he's just a new student, because we can't have him in any danger. If he were to be killed, we'd lost the best hope we have of finding the killer."_

Kid had no idea how the lead investigator could just be his age. Were they some child prodigy, or maybe skilled at soul perception? Or could it be something else? His thoughts were interrupted by Liz.

"Kid, did you hear me?" Kid turned to her.

"There's just a new student coming, and I was told to introduce him to the school," Liz wasn't satisfied with his explanation. If it was just a new student, then why would it be so secret? No, Kid was keeping a secret.

Maka

Maka was just walking through the halls when she saw a kid sweep the legs of a girl out from under her, causing her to fall to the floor. Maka was about to chew the kid out when two things happened. One, she realized she had never seen him before, and two, he started talking.

"So, why were you about to trip that girl?" he pointed to Maka. The girl on the ground started stuttering about how she hadn't even stuck her foot out when he interrupted. "I know you didn't stick your foot out, but you were just about to, weren't you?" the girl's eyes started to widen and he just kept talking. "Honestly, I don't know who this Soul kid is, but if you want him to be your partner, don't trip his partner, that'll just make you look like a jerk." The girl gasped, got up and ran away.

"What was that?" Maka didn't know whether to be angry or glad.

"That was me saving you from being tripped." He grinned. "She was going to trip you, couldn't you tell?"

"Uhh…" Maka was confused. How did he know the girl would trip her before she even made any moves?

"Got to go, I have a class to get to." He interrupted, and ran off, leaving a confused Maka standing there in the hall.

Spirit

"I didn't know you'd be here this fast," Spirit commented on Vince's appearance in the Death Room. One second He, Stein and Death had been talking and the next, Vince was poking Spirit in the back, asking when he could start working. Spirit, of course, jumped, but was more surprised on how the kid got into the Death Room unnoticed.

"It was easy, I just told the guy guarding the door that his mother loved him, and he started crying and ran off to buy some flowers." Vince stated flatly. Spirit shuddered. The only thing he didn't like about Vince was how creepy he could be. He didn't exactly have a normal childhood, and his ability to probe the soul for weaknesses was almost scary. "I'm scary? Well that's just mean." Vince said mockingly to Spirit, surprising the latter.

"Yo yo yo Vince, how's the weather up in Washington?" Death asked, seemingly unfazed by the fact that Vince broke into the death room and read Spirit's thoughts. "So Spirit, you did fill him in on the details, right?"

"Well, he kind of hung up before I could. Honestly, I kinda didn't even expect him to come." Spirit stammered.

"Alright, so any info on the victim?" Vince asked. "Have you figured out the origin of the claw marks Stein?"

"How did you-"

"Your soul is easy to read Spirit, you really need some practice in hiding your soul's thoughts."

Stein pulled out a report. "I've managed to gather that these claw marks are the same as the marks of another person, Kim Diehl.

"How did she die?"

"Actually, she's still alive."

"What!? I need to talk to her right now!"

"You can't, she's comatose. Her weapon partner has also gone missing, and until further evidence is found, we're assuming all three crimes were perpetrated by the same person."

"This sounds like an interesting case, let's hope we get more eviden-" he froze like a statue for a couple seconds before changing the subject entirely. "The culprit is in this school."

"Vincent, please explain." Death stated, intrigued more than the others. It had been four years since the last time he saw Vince's powers at work, and it was always fascinating to watch him go, to say the least.

"For a second, a large source of madness was in Spirit's soul. You felt it, didn't you Spirit?" he nodded and Vince continued. "Then, the signal bounced to over there," he pointed. "And hit a girl who is really worried about her math test. Then the madness bounced over there," he pointed again, this time downwards. "And hit a prisoner who is really hungry and is wondering when he's getting his next meal, and so on and so forth. The only thing that stayed consistent was that every soul this wavelength hit is inside the school. I believe that the culprit is in the school, and in order to hide the madness wavelength, has bounced the wavelength's signal from person to person. In their effort to hide their existence, they've only narrowed down the search. Spirit, anybody who was with Ms. Diehl the night of the attack who goes to this school need to be brought in for questioning."

"What are you going to do Vince?" Spirit asked, still amazed by his power.

"I just need to ask them one simple question." Vince replied.

Vince

"What's your favorite color?" Vince asked. Maka was confused by the question, but answered.

"Uhh…I guess black." Vince looked at her judgingly.

"Sorry, I can't accept that answer. Black is not a color, it is the absence of color."

"Oh, okay then, I guess white?"

"Sorry, I can't accept that one either, white is actually a mix of every color, so saying white is like saying every color is your favorite. I'm just looking for one specific color."

"Fine, red."

"Really, red? Red is the color of evil, does that mean you're evil? Are you an evil person Miss Albarn?"

"Is there a point to all of this!?"

"Alright, you are cleared from suspicion, please call the next person in." Vince calmly stated as he pulled out a paintbrush, dipped it in red paint and made one red line on a blank sheet of paper. Maka stormed out, ticked off at how annoying the guy was. He had saved her from getting tripped and now he's insulting her choice of favorite color? What was with that guy!?

Next came Liz. As she walked in Vince asked the same question.

"I'd have to choose purple."

"Really? _Purple_?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sorry, it just seems too girly a color for you."

"WHAT!?"

"You are no longer a suspect in this case, please call the next person in"

"What's your favorite color?"

"Giraffe!"

"Giraffe is not a color, please choose a color."

"Giraffe!"

"Please choose an actual color."

"GIRAFFE!"

"Next."

"What's your favorite color?"

"Grey."

"Why grey?"

"Grey represents order, and order represents symmetry."

"Grey also represents dullness. Are you a dull person Death the Kid?"

"No, I just like symmetry."

"Alright, you're clear of all suspicion, call the next person in please."

"What's your favorite color?"

"What!?"

"I just want to know your favorite color, that's all."

"I don't know how to deal with picking my favorite color!"

"Just pick a color."

"Uhh…uhh…green!"

"Okay, you can go now."

That's how it went as Vince asked the same question to everybody who attended the party. At the end he had Spirit come in to the interrogation room and then circled three colors. "I've narrowed it down to three suspects, but I haven't told them they're still under suspicion."

"Alright, who do we have?"

"First, Patricia Thompson. She's a young, happy girl, but I could easily sense traces of madness in her soul. It seems she has a hard time keeping it in, and instead of letting it out, chooses to cover it up with a bright, bubbly attitude. Next, Crona Gorgon. They have had a history of falling to madness in the past, and still has an unstable attitude. This could fit with Miss Diehl's final statement before falling into her comatose state, "Don't trust her" as they have refused to comment on whether they are male or female. Finally, Maka Albarn. She-"

"Are you saying my daughter is under suspicion as the killer!?"

"Let me finish and then you can talk. She has been under the influence of black blood in the past, and if there is any still in her system, she is very likely to be the killer. There is also the traumatic injury given to her by the Kishin, which could have left her susceptible to the madness. Now you can talk."

"Listen, if you think you can just point fingers at MY daughter than you're dead wrong!"

"Spirit, I am not pointing fingers. I am looking at evidence and facts, and the facts are that she is one of the three most likely people to be the killer. I know this will be hard to accept but we can't leave any stone unturned, so your daughter will be under suspicion until we either find her guilty or find proof of innocence."

"Fine, but if I see you doing anything I think is an invasion of her privacy or rights-"

"Then I will gladly accept it if you send me home but you have to remember they only call me if the situation is extremely bad, so losing me would not be good for the case."

"Fine." Spirit grunted, storming out of the room. His daughter accused of being the killer? He and Vince were going to finish that conversation soon.

Jacqueline

How long had she been here? Rotting away in this cell, with only the occasional meal and bottle of water to keep her alive. She tried starving herself, but then she was beaten senseless and quickly started eating again. She just couldn't believe what had happened. One of her own friends, and surprisingly it was…she needed to stop thinking about it, otherwise she'd go as mad as the lunatic she once called a friend. She just hoped somebody would find her.


	3. Chapter 3

Maka and Soul

As they were waiting for class to start, Maka was talking with Soul about the new visitor. "He's strange, that's certain," Maka said. "He knocked down a girl accusing her of trying to trip me when her foot wasn't even out, but the weird thing is she acted like she actually was going to!" She had no idea what to expect from the new kid, but if it was anything like what he was already doing, he would tick her off to no end. "Although how and why he got his own room to ask us our favorite colors is strange."

"Yeah, that guy sounds so uncool." Soul replied, only having met him when he was asked the same question. They continued to talk about the new kid until Sid walked into the room with the new kid in tow.

"Class, I'd like you to meet Vince, he will be attending this school for a while. I'd like you all to treat him well." The class responded, mostly with "Yes Sid" and "Sure", although there were a few with sarcastic remarks, like a girl who muttered "You're asking the impossible" before snickering to her friends. Vince looked at the girl.

"Honestly, first you try to trip that one girl and now you're too lazy to be nice? You must be great at parties." He said flatly, causing some of the class to snicker while her face flushed bright red in anger.

"That's enough class. Vince, you can sit there by Maka." He pointed to the empty seat, previously filled by Blackstar, who had left for Japan with Tsubaki. Vince walked to the chair and sat down. Maka pretended not to notice, but her head was swimming with thoughts on who the new kid was.

"Please stop, you're making it hard to concentrate." He muttered to Maka, surprising her. She never said anything, so how did he-"People here seem to think you're smart, so I'm surprised you haven't figured it out." Maka practically jumped. How had he known what she was thinking? "I just read your soul, that's all. By the way, we're having fried chicken for lunch." This was getting creepy. He could read the thoughts of souls? He even knew about her wanting to know what would be served for lunch. She decided to focus on the lesson.

Soul, meanwhile, was looking at the weird kid. He had just started talking to Maka, and for some reason he knew what she was thinking? It was weird to say the least. Of course, he had heard of people with unnaturally good soul perception, but never being able to understand a soul without them being weapon partners. This was going to be interesting day.

Vince

Vince knocked on Stein's door. As much as he disliked the man, he couldn't deny that he was good at what he did, and Vince needed to know if he had found any new evidence off the corpse. Stein opened the door, telling Vince to come in. "Stein, did you find any new evidence?" He wanted to keep this short. Not many things creeped him out, and Stein's house was one of them. Who has a house with stitches?

"Sadly, no. I have yet to find any DNA samples on the markings that aren't the victim's." Vince sighed. He was really hoping Stein could get something from the markings. Their conversation was interrupted by an Orange-haired woman.

"Stein?" Marie asked. "Who's here?"

"Marie, this is Vince, he's helping with the investigation," Stein said. "Vince, this is Marie, my fiancé." Vince looked at her in shock.

"No freaking way," Vince muttered. "He actually did it…" Vince pulled out a $20 bill and handed it to Stein.

"Stein, why is he handing you money?"

"Well Marie," Stein started, before Vince interrupted.

"We made a bet last time we saw each other that if he at least got a girlfriend, I'd give him $20, and if not, he'd give me $20." Vince said, still in shock.

"Is this true Stein?" Marie asked coldly. Both men could tell she would blow if they couldn't explain, but Vince saw the chance to get his last word and took it.

"Oh yeah, he seemed really determined too," Vince started, now talking with a grin. "I might be careful if I was you, he might cancel the wedding now that he's gotten his $20." Vince ran off as Marie started to explode on poor Stein. "See ya Stein!" he yelled as he ran out the door. He wished he could've seen the whole thing, but he didn't want to get targeted by her too. _That's quite the woman he has…_ Vince thought to himself as he ran off.

Spirit

Spirit didn't think the killer would strike again this soon. He looked at the corpse, hung on a ceiling fan, the rope tied around the victim's exposed spine. His organs were scattered around on the floor, the biggest similarity besides the claw marks, which were once again present. The ceiling fan had obviously been turned on at some point, as blood was splattered all over the walls. Whoever this killer was, they had a sick sense of style. Once again, the soul was sitting outside the body, and he saw Vince kneel in front of it and concentrate. After a bit he got up and walked to Spirit.

"The victim has been dead for at least a day, and because of that I can't recover the last memories of the man." That was Vince's other ability, to find out the last moments of the deceased, as long as they hadn't been dead too long. Spirit nodded and had forensics take the soul away along with the body. They just needed to find the victims faster, or better yet, catch the killer during the crime. He didn't want more people to die, but he knew there wasn't enough information to make any valid arrests. Vince was carrying his own spate investigation, although he had already blatantly interrogated students, even though his investigation was supposed to be secret. Vince had told Spirit that he would let him know if his daughter was cleared of suspicion or became an even higher suspect, but it wasn't much. Vince was known to go off and do the exact opposite of what people told him to do, like the interrogations.

Spirit drove over to his house, and when he got inside, collapsed on his couch and turned on the T.V. The news was talking about the 2 killings, and the authorities gave no clear answer on their progress in the investigation, but promised the killer would be caught. Spirit almost changed the channel when something caught his eye. He saw a person in the background that looked like…no, it couldn't be. His wife would have given some sign that she had come to Death City and she would've seen Spirit and Maka. Then again, she might have visited Maka already. What if she didn't visit him because she still hates him!? Spirit's thoughts were interrupted by the reporter sounding panicked. He turned up the volume to hear what she was saying clearly.

"It looks like the police have found something at the crime scene, they're ordering everybody to evacuate the area." The reporter said while walking away, the camera following her. "We think it might be something dangerous, as-" and then the screen flashed white, but only for a split-second before it turned to static. The static quickly changed to the in-house newscasters, just as confused as Spirit was.

"It seems something has happened as the scene, we're trying to get footage of the scene, but it might take a while, until then-" but Spirit wasn't listening, he grabbed his coat and got in his car. If Kami really was there, and what he thought happened really did, he needed to get over there fast.

Maka

Maka had sensed her. She had sensed her mother. She ran towards the wavelength, running as fast as she could, completely forgetting about Soul. She ran like her life depended on it, like it was all she knew how to do. Then, she saw the explosion. Right where her mother's soul was. But her soul didn't burn away like the souls of everybody else there, it stayed strong. Then, as fast as it had appeared, it was gone. Maka stopped, but only for a second before continuing to run towards the explosion. She needed to know if her mother was alive.

Sid

Sid had been helping manage the crowd outside the crime scene when it happened. One of the forensics ran up to him. "Sir, there's a bomb!" Sid was stunned by shock, but only for a second. He didn't ask questions, he didn't care about the specifics, he just wanted to get everybody out of there.

"Everybody, please leave the area now!" he yelled. "You are all in danger by being here, please move away immediately!" He ran back into the building to find a few cops around the bomb that had been pulled out of the victim's liver. The killer must've sown the bomb in, and somebody from the forensics team must've noticed. Sid got a bit closer, wondering when it would go off, when it started beeping at an alarmingly fast rate. Sid didn't even have time to help the others, his survival instincts kicked in and he jumped out the room's window, digging into the ground as the bomb went off. He heard the bomb go off above ground as he stayed under. Then, the blast stopped. It felt like an eternity, but he knew the blast was probably a few seconds.

Sid slowly dug out and looked at the chaos around him. He couldn't find any live people, just countless souls everywhere. He then realized how severe the explosion had been. It had taken out not only the house, but at least a 3 block radius. He had to see if there were any survivors.

** Phew, writing mysteries is harder than I thought. Especially when I keep almost slipping up and revealing information about the culprit. It's amazing how I've already gotten quite a few reviews, all positive too! It really helps me want to continue this story, so thanks! To the guests who want me to write more in Jacqueline's view, I wish I could, but it's very difficult, as she knows a lot more about the killer than you guys do, and I want to keep the killer's identity heavily under wraps. You will probably hear from her again, but not in great detail.**

**Fun fact: Maka's mother has no official name, the name Kami was a name given by the fanbase, because of it being short for motokamisan, which roughly translates to "ex-wife".**


	4. Chapter 4

Jacqueline

She had done it. She had managed to break the lock to the small cage she was in. She made sure to be fast but quiet, if that maniac found her it would be all over. Breaking the lock had taken forever, she had to slowly melt the lock off, but her weapon form was weak, as the place she was in was very humid, making her flame weak. Where was she anyways? She had yet to figure it out, but she needed to get her bearings. She was in some building; that was certain. Most of the doors were unlocked, a good advantage in case she needed to hide. However, that also created a problem, as she now had too many places the exit might be, and not enough time. Her captor usually left for a good amount of time, but the arrival timing could also be very erratic. Jacqueline knew she didn't have much time.

Most of the signs on the walls were too dirty or corroded to read, but eventually she found one she could make out, if only barely. Luckily, the directions to the exit were readable, so she headed down the path to the exit. Her heart was pounding in her chest, this was her chance. If she could just make it to the exit. Then she heard it. Footsteps behind her, rather far away, but still following her. Her heart started to beat faster as she hurried up her pace. Was it another prisoner? She had never heard anybody else besides her captor, but she still didn't know for sure. She pushed the thoughts out of her head, she couldn't take that chance. She let her adrenaline take over and started sprinting to the end of the hallway. She heard the footsteps behind her respond in kind, and she started to panic. She tried to stay calm. She could see the exit sign at the end of the hall, she just needed to make it! She reached the doors, and started to pull them open. Then she felt a sharp pain in her side.

Looking down, she saw a gaping wound in her side. Then, she felt a sharp pain on her arm. The pain had started to begin, and she gasped in pain as she fell to the ground. She felt a foot hit her ribs hard. She could've sworn she heard her ribs crack. Then she felt another kick. And another. And another. Each time, a cracking noise accompanied the kick. The noise was faint, but she knew what it was, mainly due to the burning feeling in her ribcage. She had been beaten before, but never this much. She felt the tears come as she felt her back cut, and felt the blood sliding down her back. The adrenaline that had filled her body only minutes before was replaced with pure terror. She started to beg her torturer to stop, but she was given no mercy. Instead, the cuts and stabs kept coming, the kicks and punches kept coming. She nearly blacked out from the pain. Then, it stopped. Her captor began to drag her back to the small cage, all while she couldn't stop crying. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her neck, and started to feel woozy. As her vision faded, she could hear the sadistic voice of her captor.

"I hope you've learned your lesson."

She woke up in a sweat, but immediately regretted it as her wounds started burning. She checked herself, only to see quite a few deep cuts, countless minor cuts, and a very high amount of bruises. Her ribs hurt the most, feeling like they were burning. She clenched her teeth, trying not to make noise. She looked around, seeing that she was in a cage. However, this one was much bigger than the small cage she was in before, this one giving her quite a bit of room to stretch. She looked around and found a sewing needle, some thread, and alcohol. She quickly realized that her captor intended for her to suture her own wounds. She picked up the needle, and slowly attached some thread to it. She opened the alcohol, and prepared to sew her biggest wound first. This was gonna hurt.

Spirit

Spirit arrived at the scene, only to find chaos. The area that was most heavily affected by the blast was dead quiet, but all around it, chaos had ensued. People running, screaming; all trying to find order in the chaos. He ignored them, instead heading into the blast zone. He immediately noticed the silence that emerged once he got closer to the middle. He looked back and saw Sid, who had somehow survived, trying to calm the crowd. He turned back and saw a woman standing in front of him.

"What a tragedy." She muttered. Even though she was wearing a cloak, it didn't take Spirit long to figure out who it was. After all, how could he forget his own wife? Well, ex-wife, but that didn't matter at the moment.

"What-" He tried to speak, but she cut him off.

"I didn't think the killer would resort to a bomb just to slow the investigation." Kami said, voice completely deadpan. "Listen, the killer isn't going to stop here, not a chance. They'll keep going, getting bolder, until we start dropping like flies."

"Honey, what are you talking about? Where have you been? How-" He was cut off yet again by Kami.

"I wish I could explain it all right now, but I need to go. Tell Maka that I'm still keeping an eye on her." Spirit knew that once his ex-wife was set on something, nothing could change her mind. He nodded, knowing it would help Maka a lot to know her mother was still watching her. Kami turned and walked away, leaving Spirit with a head about to burst from questions.

Aftermath

After hearing about the explosion, the whole of Death City went crazy. The police station got flooded with people, all asking questions. Was it safe to go outside? Were they in danger? Did the police catch the killer? The DWMA got a similar treatment, although instead of concerned citizens, the students were the ones flooding the halls, confused and scared. The staff assured the students that nobody was in danger, but nobody was buying it, not even the staff themselves.

The blast zone had been turned into a makeshift hospital for the wounded. They weren't very busy, as almost everybody who was caught in the blast died instantly. The zone was also buzzing with police, making the area one big crime scene. It didn't help that some people took advantage of the chaos to commit crimes, making the police force spread themselves far too thin.

The killer took advantage of this chaos as well, taking a confirmed five lives in one week, with another seven dead, although it was unconfirmed whether it was the same killer. In short, Death City was in chaos, and it took a whole month to calm it down. Even after the city was calm, the killings didn't stop, getting more and more gruesome each time. One was found in a vent in a convenience store, guts all around the ventilation system. Another was found with his fingers nailed to a windowsill, organs nailed to his body. The killing kept going on, and nobody had found any clues. Until the twenty-second killing.

Spirit

"Sir, we think you should take a look at this." One of the officers handed a piece of paper to Spirit. He was confused at first, until he noticed the tiny writing scrawled on it. _Johnathan Stapers!_ It read.

"I want a city-wide search for this man." He ordered the officer. "If this victim had this as his dying note, then this man might just be our killer." AS the officer walked away, Stein walked next to Spirit.

"So, you think the killer isn't in the school?" He asked flatly. "If I remember correctly, Vince was sure he was right when he said the killer was in the school." Spirit didn't even look at Stein, instead walking away. Vince was sure of a lot of things, including Maka being a suspect. Spirit didn't believe him.


	5. Chapter 5

Child

She was so scared, so alone. Her mommy had promised that she would be back, but she never came. Eventually, after many tears, the girl got up from the park bench she had been left on and walked around the city. She didn't know why. Was she looking for her mommy? Was she running away? Maybe she just wanted to walk. She turned the corner into an alley and heard footsteps behind her.

"What are you doing alone so late?" A kind, gentle voice spoke to her. "Don't you know it's dangerous for little girls to be out so late at night?"

"Mommy said I shouldn't talk to strangers." The girl spoke, but she felt safe. This person sounded so kind, how could they possibly be a bad person? She turned around to look, and saw a hooded figure, with a smile that sent shivers down her spine.

"How about you come with me?" The stranger said with a voice that started to sound scary. "I can take care of you." The girl tried to scream, but the stranger ran to her and covered her mouth. "Tsk tsk, good girls don't make loud noises." Her kidnapper said as she felt a sharp, cold feeling on her throat. At this point, tears were coming down her face, as she was terrified. "Don't worry, everything will be fine as long as you do what I say."

Jacqueline

She woke up hearing screaming. Getting up that fast caused her sutured wounds and her chest to burn, and she immediately regretted it. Gasping from the pain, she laid back down, listening to what sounded like a child screaming. She heard the familiar voice of her captor, and the child screaming loudly. "Didn't I tell you to be quiet?" Her captor scolded before opening the cage and throwing the child into the cage with Jacqueline. She slowly lifted her upper body up to look at the child. She looked like a young girl, maybe five or six, and while she wasn't hurt much, was obviously scared out of her mind.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." Jacqueline said with what little strength she could muster. She was so weak after the beating she sustained, it would take a few days to get back to her normal strength, maybe more. The little girl sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Miss, where are we?" She sniffed, tears already forming again.

"I don't know," She told the girl, trying to sound as gentle as she could. "But you don't need to worry. I'm sure the policemen will come and save us." She smiled, but it was difficult to do so with the pain. "What's your name?"

"It's Lucy." She sniffed, finally calming down. She now had a slight smile on her face, but Jacqueline could tell the girl was still frightened.

"Hi Lucy, my name's Jacqueline." She said, trying to look brave for Lucy. "And I promise you, I'll keep you safe." The girl smiled a little more, leaving Jacqueline with something she hadn't had for a long time. She now had a reason to fight.

Stein

He walked out of the school's infirmary, where Kim was still unconscious. Her wounds had been healing at a steady rate, but she still had not woken up. He had remembered stories of people who had been in comas for years, but those cases were rare, and Kim was a strong girl. His talk with Nygus revealed the same information he already knew; the healing was going well, but it would still take time. Unfortunately, he did not have much time left. The killer was getting more daring every night, the news having a field day after every murder. Many people were starting to doubt the abilities of the DWMA and Death City Police, and Stein was starting to doubt too. The killer hid themselves too well, as if they knew every move the authorities would make. He headed back to his lab to see if the newest victim would finally give him conclusive DNA evidence.

Spirit

"Do you know why you are here Mr. Stapers?" Spirit calmly asked. It didn't take long to find Johnathan Stapers, and bringing him in was a cakewalk. It didn't make sense. Maybe he was acting like a scapegoat, maybe he really was a scapegoat. This interrogation would help him figure that out.

"No, the police just cuffed me and brought me here." He replied, looking slightly agitated.

"I'm not gonna sugarcoat it," Spirit started. "You are a suspect in the Death City killings." The "Death City Murders" was what the media called it. Not the most original name, but it fit, since all the killings took place in Death City.

"Why would I be the killer?" Johnathan asked, slightly louder than he was before, but he quickly corrected his volume. "Listen, I don't know why you'd think I killed anybody, but I-" He was suddenly interrupted by Spirit.

"We found this on the latest victim," Spirit pulled out the note with Johnathan's name on it, which was followed by a shocked Johnathan.

"Wait, who died?" He asked, starting to look more panicked.

"His name was George Lee." Spirit calmly stated, which caused Johnathan's eyes to go wide.

"I know that guy!" He yelled, before quickly calming down. "He was a guy at my workplace. We never talked, but we knew who we were." He looked surprised and agitated, causing Spirit to get even more suspicious. It was time to go all out.

"Mr. Stapers, do you realize you are acting very agitated?" He asked, causing Johnathan to get even angrier.

"Maybe that's because somebody I knew just got killed and said I did it!" He yelled, no longer trying to keep calm.

"I thought you said you two didn't know each other well." Spirit calmly stated, causing Johnathan to slowly slump back in his chair.

"I-I didn't want to do it…" He muttered, his hands covering his horrified expression. He started shaking.

"Did you or did you not kill George Lee?" Spirit asked, moving in for the kill.

"I…I killed him." Johnathan muttered in defeat. "Please, before you take me away, just make sure she doesn't hurt my daughters…" Spirit realized that the person sitting in front of him wasn't the killer. At least, not the main culprit.

"How about I make a deal with you." Spirit started. Johnathan looked up from his hands. "You tell us everything you know about the killer, and I will not only try to shorten your sentence, but I will also guarantee the safety of your daughters." Johnathan nodded.

"We only met once, it was in an alley." He started. "She pushed me against a wall and told me if I didn't do what she said, she'd kill my little girls. She gave me a phone and told me to destroy it if I was ever suspected by the police."

"And I'm guessing this phone is…"

"Destroyed, I crushed it and threw it away before I was taken to the station." Spirit sighed. That phone could've been his biggest lead. Johnathan continued. "Killing George was one of two things she made me do. The second was to put a package in a local café. I don't know what was in it. That's all I know, I swear!" Spirit sighed yet again. His search for answers just led to more questions. Why did the killer want this man to do her dirty work? Was the killer even female, or was the woman just another pawn? Spirit could tell that it was going to be a long day.

?

"So, what happened while you had your fun?"

"I set up a proxy to cover for me, but he got sniffed out by the cops."

"That sucks, why can't you just do it the old fashioned way and just walk up to the guy and kill him?"

"Because if I did, I would've been caught by now. It's been hard enough having to cover for your kills, let alone cover mine."

"But it's so much fun!"

"Listen, be a little more careful, and you'll get to kill more, got it?"

"Yeah, I got it!"

"Good, now the boss should be here any second, let's make sure we look at least a little professional."

"Okay!"


	6. Chapter 6

Maka

It was a simple mission. Soul still wasn't a Death Scythe, and now that the Kishin had been defeated, that had become their main objective again. They had to find and defeat a Kishin Egg in Mexico, which didn't take much effort. They quickly found their target and took him down, collecting another soul. Maka had been keeping count of the souls they had collected, which had now reached 79. They were getting close to their goal. "Alright Soul, let's head back." She said to him as they collected the soul.

Kid

Kid was also sent on a mission, this one being a raid on a small remnant of Arachnophobia. He had come there with Liz and Patty, as well as a few other students. It ended relatively quickly, leading to a victory on their end. One or two Arachnophobia members had escaped, but they'd probably be found soon. Now that Arachne had been killed, the organization was like a decapitated chicken, struggling for a bit before it fell to the ground, dead.

Spirit

Spirit headed to the café, trying to be inconspicuous. If the package was still there, it might just provide the investigation with the leap forward it needed. He arrived and asked if there were any strange packages there. "Oh, was that yours?" A waitress asked, followed by a nod by Spirit. He didn't have enough time to explain everything. "Sorry, somebody else came in asking if anybody knew where it went. She said she lost it, and seemed really thankful when we got it for her. I still can't figure out how it ended up here."

"Did you see what she looked like?" Spirit asked, hoping she had seen who had taken the package.

"Sorry, no." Spirit sighed in frustration at the waitresses' confirmation. Another lead, lost. "Although she was wearing a cloak and had a badge." Spirit asked what the badge said. "I think it said 'Echidna Corporation', but it might've said something else." Spirit knew the name, the Echidna Corporation was a tech manufacturer in Death City; maybe this mysterious woman was linked to them somehow.

"Thanks for the help." He said, then rushed outside the café. He finally had a good, concrete lead, and he hoped this one wouldn't be another dead end.

Vince

Vince was walking down the hallways of the DWMA when he heard a gruff voice behind him. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" He turned around to see a rather buff student with that annoying girl next to him.

"Let me guess," Vince said disinterestedly, "You're her boyfriend and she told you that I was harassing her?"

"If you know that it must mean she wasn't lying." He replied, a scowl on his face.

"Not really, it was just easy to guess." Vince didn't need to see into the guy's soul to figure it out. Obviously this guy didn't realize that, but he didn't exactly look like the brightest bulb. "I mean, she's standing really close to you, you looked beyond ticked off, and she's the kind of a person who can do something like that." The student responded by grabbing Vince and pushing him against a wall.

"Shut up." He grunted, now acting more like a raging bull than an actual human. Vince had to admit, the guy knew how to hurt people, although at a school where the main focus for experienced students was fighting, who wasn't?

"And if I say no?" Vince tested, seeing what the student's reaction would be.

"Then I'll make sure that grin becomes permanent."

"Oh well, it wouldn't be a very bad expression to be stuck with." The student finally threw a punch, but Vince already saw it coming, moving his head to the side. He knew he couldn't do any real damage to the guy, so he just decided to tire him out. A punch dodged, a kick avoided, on and on until Vince saw that the student was visibly exhausted.

"I know it's a little late to say this, but she has a crush on that Soul kid." Vince flatly stated as he walked away, leaving the student panting in the middle of the hallway. He could've kept going, but the fight had started to remind him of memories he wanted to stay forgotten. He knew the guy would deny to himself that his girlfriend could have a crush on another guy, but he could sense that the guy was already doubting that. He could also sense that the girl's anger was not sated, and he knew this wouldn't be the last time she tried to screw with him.

Once the school day was over, Vince headed back to his apartment. Since he was an investigator, he DWMA provided him with his own place, even if it was rather small. At least he wasn't staying in the dorms. He was never good with people. As he headed to his Apartment he noticed some kids celebrating. He recognized a couple, one being the bookworm girl and another being the Grim Reaper's son. Reading their souls, he gathered that two of them had collected another soul while three of them had taken out a remnant of Arachnophobia. Vince had nothing to celebrate about, the case was still going nowhere, and the only person who was making any progress was Spirit. Vince felt useless to say the least. The madness wavelength was still bouncing around the school, although its range had been slowly extending, now bouncing around the school as well. Vince was no genius, the only reason he was called here was the hope that he would be able to sense the killer. He knew the DWMA didn't have much of a reason to keep him here. In fact, the only reason he was still here was because they were still keeping tabs on Maka, Patty and Crona.

Vince's thoughts were interrupted by one of the students recognizing him. "Hey, aren't you the new kid?" Vince knew where this was going, so he started walking faster and hoped they would just give up. Unfortunately, they didn't, and instead started calling after him. He eventually decided to run, hoping he could make it to his apartment. He was soon wishing he spent more time running, as he was slow to put it nicely. They quickly caught up to him, and before he knew it he was being invited to celebrate with them. It wasn't like they gave him much of a choice, as they were already dragging him along. He really, **really** wished he spent more time running.

By the time the celebration was over he'd learnt quite a bit about the students. They had two friends who had moved to Japan and weren't likely to come back anytime soon. He learned that they had yet another friend who didn't show, who just happened to be Crona, one of the suspects. In fact, both Maka and Patty, the other two suspects were there, and that gave Vince an idea. If he hung out around them more often, it might help him figure out if one of the three was guilty. It wasn't like Spirit was any help, completely ignoring Vince's statement about where the killer is, instead deciding to go off on other leads. But if he could get one of them to slip up, or maybe do something suspicious, he might finally contribute to the case. So he'd pretend that he wanted to hang out more often (even though that was the last thing he wanted to do) and he'd see where that went.

** I got stuck in a writer's block for a good amount of this week and for a while I thought I was gonna have to delay this week's chapter by a day or two, but luckily the writer's block was broken and I cranked out this whole chapter on a Wednesday evening while sick. The things I do for you guys. Hopefully I'll be able to work a bit more efficiently from now on. Remember to write your feedback, it is always appreciated!**


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